tag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2013-03-21:/blog/787972019-03-20T11:19:18ZMovable Type Enterprisetag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2019:/blog//78797.36716182019-03-20T11:20:18Z2019-03-20T11:19:18Z
When looking at the risk of serious injury or even death on the job, studies have found that young workers face an elevated level of risk when compared to their older coworkers. With millions of young people working during the summer and even through the school year, this is something that safety officials cannot ignore.

One important area to dig into is why the risks are higher for younger workers. What is it that makes them more prone to these serious accidents? A few reasons include:

They simply do not have as much experience as older workers.

They may face physical challenges due to their smaller size.

They could lack the strength and ability to use certain types of equipment and machinery.

The personal protective equipment that was designed for adults -- hardhats, gloves and safety glasses, for instance -- may not fit young workers correctly.

Young people's brains are still developing and their cognitive control systems may not equal those of the adults they work with.

Young workers tend to underestimate the risks, meaning they may engage in behaviors that older workers would know to avoid.

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You also have to consider that young workers often feel like they are not in a position of power and they need to defer to older workers. For instance, while an experienced adult may tell his or her boss that a ladder isn't safe and needs to be replaced, a teen may not recognize the dangers or may not feel comfortable saying something even if they do.

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tag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2019:/blog//78797.36526282019-03-06T18:31:50Z2019-03-06T18:30:50Z
A construction worker in California has died after a tragic accident in which he was apparently run over by a forklift. He was just 19 years old.

The incident happened in Rohnert Park, and it occurred on February 27, right around 10 a.m.

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Emergency crews got to the site quickly, and they included the Rohnert Park Fire Department, the Rohnert Park Police Department and Sonoma Life Support. They said that they found the man on the ground. He was not breathing, and he was unconscious. They started CPR as quickly as they could, and his co-workers had already been working on the man before they arrived, but they were not able to save him.

How did it happen? Authorities released a short statement.

"The operator lost sight of his backer, and inadvertently backed over him," they claimed after the accident. "Once the operator of the forklift realized what had happened, he immediately moved the lift and began to render aid to the victim."

Because a workplace death happened, the investigation is now in the hands of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Mistakes like this are something that should never happen, and they will look into all of the reasons for the tragic accident and how it could have been prevented.

This story underscores the dangers of working on a construction site. Heavy equipment always increases the risks. All it takes is a second for a deadly accident to happen, even with experienced workers. Those who get seriously injured or lose loved ones in these incidents need to make sure they know all of their legal rights.

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tag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2019:/blog//78797.36340992019-02-21T12:26:47Z2019-02-21T12:25:47Z
A worker at California's John Wayne Airport has passed away after being fatally injured by an exploding tire.

The incident happened right around 11:30 p.m., on Tuesday, Feb. 19. Two workers were actually at the site, working to repair a giant tire. It was allegedly about four feet tall. It was not an aircraft tire, but the tire for a jet bridge that allowed passengers to enter a plane from the terminal.

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Reports called the accident "bizarre" and did not tell why the tire exploded. However, they did say that one worker died from their injuries, while the second did not even want medical treatment after the accident. They also said that the explosion as the tire burst was enough to make the workshop sprinklers go off.

The airport did not have to shut down, and most people likely did not know what happened.

Technically, neither person actually worked for the airport. They were both employed by JBT, a local contractor. The California branch of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is going to investigate the accident to find out what caused the incident, why it happened and if anything could have been done differently to prevent it.

Freak accidents like this show just how fragile life can be, even for workers who believe they are in relatively safe professions. Risks are everywhere, and things often happen without warning. All it takes is being in the wrong place at the wrong time when something goes sideways.

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tag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2019:/blog//78797.36188492019-02-08T17:07:05Z2019-02-08T17:06:05Z
If you suffer a serious burn on the job, get medical treatment quickly. Do not simply try to treat it yourself. You need to have a doctor analyze it and tell you about the best course of action for complete healing. You also need documentation of the injury and your treatment for the sake of workers' compensation.

Using an antibiotic ointment on the area to reduce the odds of infection and scarring.

Putting a cool compress on the burn and/or running it under cold water to reduce swelling and pain.

Using aloe vera, the same plant often used after a sunburn, to promote healing and soothe the pain.

Refraining from popping any blisters or peeling away the skin. You want to wrap the burn and allow it to heal naturally.

Using pain relievers that also help to reduce swelling.

Continuing treatment with your doctor and meeting with medical professionals to see if more steps are needed.

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To a large degree, healing simply takes time, and what you do at home is more about managing the pain and giving yourself time to heal. You do want to protect the injury, get enough sleep, make sure you have a healthy diet and drink plenty of water. The healthier you are, the more energy your body can put into healing.

Burn injuries can be incredibly painful and may leave you with permanent ramifications, like facial scars. Make sure you know all of the rights you have to compensation during this time.

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tag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2019:/blog//78797.36032902019-01-30T18:01:34Z2019-01-30T18:00:34Z
Many jobs these days require workers to sit at a desk and type for eight hours every day. Over time, this can result in carpal tunnel syndrome. One of the early warning signs you have developed with this condition is that you experience a tingling or painful sensation going from your shoulder to your forearm. Your fingers may also feel swollen.

It becomes extremely difficult to continue to type when you constantly experience pain in your fingers and hands. What many people do not realize is that they can file a workers' comp claim for such an injury. It may be difficult to prove the injury occurred as a result of your workplace, but pursuing a claim can be worth it.

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How can you prove the injury occurred from work?

Carpal tunnel syndrome most often occurs as a result of repeating the same motions within your hands and wrists. There are also certain diseases that can lead to carpal tunnel, and some pregnant women may experience it. To increase the odds of a more successful claim, you need to show your job has you performing the same detrimental actions every day. These actions can include the following:

Data entry or typing

Using a vibrating tool

Working on a computer

Playing a musical instrument

Working on an assembly line

Carpal tunnel is most likely to develop in certain professions over others. If you work as a cashier, locksmith, agricultural worker, painter, mechanic or sewing machine operator, then you have an increased risk of getting carpal tunnel at some point in your life.

What damages can you potentially recover?

You may have medical bills arise from carpal tunnel. Frequent doctor visits and medication may be necessary, and a successful workers' comp claim can help pay for these expenses. Carpal tunnel may also require you to go on temporary disability, and you may recover lost wages by filing a claim.

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tag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2019:/blog//78797.35986832019-01-25T18:14:58Z2019-01-25T18:13:58Z
Is your workers' compensation claim taking forever to gain an approval? Has it flat-out been denied?

We think we know why -- and we may be able to help you overcome the problem.

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There are some fairly common reasons that a workers' comp claim can be denied. No matter how valid your injury, no matter how sincere you are about your inability to work, your case can fall apart because:

1. You had a pre-existing condition

Workers' comp insurers love to argue about whether or not an injury is really work related. So what if you fell down a ladder at work? That minor bit of age-related arthritis you have in your lower back could be the real culprit behind your debilitating injuries, right? Wrong (but that won't stop the insurance company from trying to argue about it).

2. You were injured off-site

Workers' comp only covers injuries that are work-related. Sure, you were in a company car and were between meetings with the company's clients when you were injured in a car accident, but how does the insurance company know you were really working at the time? (Again, an argument doesn't have to make a lot of sense for an insurance company to try it.)

3. Your injury isn't severe enough

California's laws are rather specific about what constitutes a severe injury -- severe enough, anyhow, to justify a workers' comp payment. Insurance companies will sometimes comb through an injured worker's medical records looking for some way to shade the diagnosis so that doesn't seem to fit the requirements for benefits.

When any of these things happen, it's important to have strong, experienced legal representation on your side. Our office will start a thorough review of all of the evidence in your workers' comp case. We aim to put our clients on the best legal footing possible -- using facts, not the insurance company's version of reality -- as we pursue what is rightfully due. For more information, please visit our main pages.

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tag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2019:/blog//78797.35785832019-01-11T15:39:50Z2019-01-11T15:38:50Z
If you get hurt on the job, go get medical treatment. Do it as soon as possible. Don't try to tough it out. Don't put it off. Just go get the treatment that you need.

The first reason for this, of course, is that you don't know the scope of the injury. It could be worse than you think. You never want to take a risk with your health. Your chances of a full recovery are best if you head in for treatment right away. Do not deny yourself that chance.

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On top of that, though, you want to think about workers' compensation. If you're going to miss time at work and have those high medical bills, you may need compensation for your costs. You were hurt on the job, after all.

However, one of the reasons that workers' comp gets denied is that the worker never got treatment. You can explain the pain you're having or how it relates to the injury, but your employer may not even believe you if you never went to the doctor.

You need that paperwork to back up your claim. It's one thing to say that your back hurts, you can't work and you want compensation. It's quite another to have charts showing that you were diagnosed with a serious spinal injury, you got treatment and it's going to take months to heal. That documentation gives your claim validity and helps you get the compensation you deserve.

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tag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2019:/blog//78797.35684212019-01-04T19:33:05Z2019-01-04T19:32:05Z
Tragically, a man has been killed in California after an accident on a construction site. The incident happened in San Rafael on Tuesday, Sept. 18.

According to the reports, the man had arrived at the job site and was sitting near the piece of plywood. It is unclear exactly what he was doing, but it was still very early in the workday.

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For some reason -- the investigation is still happening right now -- the plywood then fell and struck the man. When it landed on top of him, the force was enough to cause fatal injuries.

The police reported that the incident happened on Fair Drive, and it took place right around nine o'clock in the morning. Police had to close down the site and the road from Lincoln Avenue to Coleman Drive so that they could investigate.

Video from the scene shows a building that has been partially framed in, with other homes around it. There is plywood on the ground all around the construction site. Three people stand at the edge of the pit, looking down into it, and police tape runs around the entire area.

Accidents like this help to show just how dangerous the construction industry really is. Even workers who try to stay safe and do not put themselves in danger can be hurt or killed in an instant. While some may call this specific event more of a freak accident, there is a reason that construction takes so many lives every single year.

If you lose a loved one in a workplace accident, make sure you understand all of the legal options you have.

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tag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2018:/blog//78797.35604912018-12-27T12:05:18Z2018-12-27T12:04:18Z
If a co-worker expresses concerns about the safety of a ladder or mentions worrying about on-site injuries from a fall, do you really take it seriously? Even safety-minded individuals often overlook these risks. We're just so accustomed to using ladders every day that it seems very safe.

It can be safe, but the reality is that accidents happen. People suffer serious injuries. Some pass away from those injuries. It's time to be honest about that risk.

Emergency workers warn that they see life-altering injuries all the time. These include:

Broken bones

Spine and back injuries

Head injuries and traumatic brain injuries

Broken pelvises

In the short term, these injuries can leave you in significant pain. They may mean you can't work, play with your children, enjoy your hobbies or even get out of bed.

In the long term, every case is different. A broken leg may heal with no further complications, but a head injury can leave you with mental and emotional issues that never fully heal. You may even find that you can't work at all anymore.

Plus, as noted, people suffer fatal ladder falls all year around in the United States. These are a serious risk for construction workers and their families.

So, it's time to be honest about what's happening and the risks workers face. They need to know all of the legal options they have after a serious accident.

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tag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2018:/blog//78797.35405282018-12-11T12:23:50Z2018-12-11T12:22:50Z
Worker safety on small farms is something of a point of contention in the United States. While other types of businesses have to answer to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Congress determined decades ago that the same oversight should not apply to these small farming operations. They're often family-run farms, though they may still have employees.

The problem is that the lack of government oversight means that dangerous and even deadly conditions sometimes exist. When a worker is injured or even killed, these events do not always spark the same large-scale investigations that they would elsewhere.

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California, however, does treat small farms a bit differently than many other states. After all, despite not having federal oversight, state governments in 21 different states have set up oversight regulations at that lower level. They attempt to manage things the same way that OSHA does, though they are legally barred from doing any of it with federal money.

Naturally, this still means that the majority of the states have no oversight, but it gets even more dangerous when you factor in that experts agree that the only states to realistically carry out consistent safety inspections are California, Washington and Oregon. Other states may look into things when there are fatalities or in serious situations, but they rarely -- if ever -- do more traditional safety inspections.

The fact that California does is a positive for worker safety, but it absolutely does not mean that workers never get injured or killed on small farms within the state. The family members of these workers need to know if they have a right to compensation for medical bills, funeral costs, lost wages and more.

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tag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2018:/blog//78797.35309922018-12-03T22:21:34Z2018-12-03T22:20:34Z
When you work in an industry known to be dangerous, such as logging, fishing or manufacturing, you probably exercise care when performing certain duties to reduce your risk of injury. Today’s most common workplace injury is not what you may expect, however, and it is one that can impact workers who hold logging, fishing or manufacturing jobs as well as those working in many other fields: hearing loss.

USA Today reports that hearing loss is now America’s most common work-related injury and that the problem is so prevalent nowadays that the nation’s employers pay about $242 million annually in hearing loss-related workers’ compensation costs. Furthermore, more than 22 million American workers undergo exposure to potentially hazardous levels of noise every year. Unless workers and employers take more steps to protect themselves, these figures will likely continue to rise.

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Who is at risk?

Those who work in certain industries are more likely to experience work-related hearing loss than those employed in others, although workers across numerous industries face at least some degree of risk. However, your risk of suffering hearing loss related to your profession is highest if you work as a miner, construction worker or manufacturer, because all these fields typically expose you to consistently high levels of noise.

However, while these industries may be the riskiest when it comes to work-related hearing loss, you actually run a higher risk of experiencing on-the-job hearing loss if you work in a moderately loud, rather than extremely loud, environment. Why? In unquestionably loud settings, workers are more consistent about donning ear protection, and their employers, too, are typically stricter about making sure workers follow safety protocols. In moderately loud environments, however, employees and employers may underestimate the noise risk, making them less likely to follow safety protocols and otherwise make efforts to protect themselves.

If you have concerns about the level of noise in your work environment, talk to your boss about making additional efforts to protect employees.

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tag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2018:/blog//78797.35292882018-11-30T20:06:26Z2018-11-30T20:05:26Z
Suffering a back injury at work can lead to extensive medical treatment and could even change the course of your career. One potential issue you face is throwing your back out while simply trying to perform the duties associated with your employment. How do you know if that is what you've done?

The first thing you should know is that an official diagnosis is very important, especially when it comes to workers' compensation. You need to see a medical professional, not just for treatment, but also to get documentation of your injury and to find out what type of injury it really is. Never assume anything or decide to make that diagnosis on your own. Stop working immediately and seek out proper medical care.

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That said, throwing out your back general causes severe pain that comes on very suddenly. It's not a dull ache or a general sense of discomfort. It's a shooting pain that can be debilitating, and it may make continuing to work impossible.

Generally, you will feel this pain in the lower part of your back. It usually happens while you are engaging in some type of physical activity. Remember that it may be something you've done hundreds of times before. Maybe you have to lift fifty-pound bags of concrete on a construction site. You could do that job for years without injury and then throw your back out while making the exact same lift in the exact same way.

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tag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2018:/blog//78797.35079632018-11-14T07:23:05Z2018-11-14T07:22:05Z
Coming in contact with boiling water or scalding steam puts you in serious danger of suffering significant burns. In some occupations, this is a constant threat and something that all workers must be aware of.

You may have heard that even when steam and water are technically the same temperature, steam can cause worse burns. Why does this happen?

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The reason is that steam that burns your skin also goes through a phase change. It becomes water again. This is a fundamental change from a gas to a liquid. Steam touches your skin, drops in temperature -- transferring that energy to your skin -- and switches back into liquid form. All of this happens in a split-second, but that phase change also takes energy. This energy gets released at the moment of contact. Therefore, the energy from the phase change and the energy from the heat all goes into your skin at once, leading to severe burns.

Boiling water also transfers heat at the moment of contact, and it also decreases in temperature. Without the phase change, though, there is simply less energy in the system, so those burns tend not to be as severe as steam burns.

Of course, this does not mean water burns are not significant. Either one can land you in the hospital, leading to permanent damage and scaring. It's just worth noting that steam at the same temperature is slightly more dangerous because of the way it interacts with your skin.

If you do get hurt on the job, suffering serious burns that change your life forever, make sure you know all of your potential rights to financial compensation.

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tag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2018:/blog//78797.34965022018-11-02T14:11:06Z2018-11-02T14:10:06Z
Losing a spouse in a tragic workplace accident is something no one expects, but thousands of families go through it every year. If it happens to you, it is important to know how to move forward with your life. This is difficult. Expect it to take time. That's all right.

One key thing to keep in mind is that each person experiences grief in a unique way. Some cannot stop crying, while others wonder why they don't cry more. Some throw themselves into their own careers as a means of distraction, while others find it impossible to do anything. Do not compare your experience to anyone else. Just find the method of grieving that works the best for you.

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At this time, it is wise to find a support group. This may mean an actual group that has been established with other people who are going through the same thing. It may mean just spending more time with friends and family. Again, everyone's reaction is unique. The key here is to understand that you do not need to go through this alone.

Do not be afraid to let others help you. The odds are good that you're going to have offers from people who want to drop off a meal, clean your house, or take care of your kids. Let them help you. Give yourself time to reduce your stress and process the changes in your life.

As you move forward, make sure you also understand the potential legal options you have to seek financial compensation over a wrongful death that was caused by another's negligence. Compensation can help during this difficult time by covering your lost wages, funeral costs, medical bills and more.

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tag:www.mitchelllawcorp.com,2018:/blog//78797.34827312018-10-19T07:02:45Z2018-10-19T07:01:45Z
You may feel like your back injury happened suddenly, but is that really true? While certain events definitely can lead to instant injuries -- such as getting into a car accident -- the reality is that a lot of back ailments are the result of cumulative damage. Over time, putting a little strain on your back every day finally causes it to give out.

For instance, maybe you have to do heavy lifting at work. No one gives you any instructions. No one gives you any training. They certainly do not give you a back brace, a lifting belt or any other protective gear.

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The first time you have to make the lift, while it's hard, you get it done. You bend at the waist, pick the item up and then straighten up. You feel the stress in your back, but the lift seems to work and everyone goes on with their day.

The problem is that you're lifting wrong. You should be crouching down and lifting with your legs, keeping your back as straight as possible. But you don't know that because you never got any training, and the fact that you did it once makes you think that you're not pushing your body to the limit.

How long can you keep it up? For a week? For a month? Eventually, if you keep lifting like that and nothing changes, the odds are very good that you are going to seriously injure yourself. You may wonder why your back gave out that day when it seemed fine on all the days leading up to it, but the truth is that you have slowly been hurting your back every day on the job. That day just put you over the edge.

If you suffer an injury like this at work, perhaps due to repetitive motion, make sure you know what legal rights you have to compensation.